State Representative Jim Butler (R-Oakwood) and State Representative Ron Young (R-Leroy Township) today applauded the Ohio House of Representatives’ passage of House Concurrent Resolution 41, which urges the Attorney General of Ohio to bring suit to challenge the constitutionality of Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of Fiscal Year 2012.

The NDAA is a piece of federal legislation that is passed annually to set the operating budget for the military and other national security necessities. In 2012, a provision was added to the NDAA which would allow the President to order the military to indefinitely detain anyone suspected of terrorism, including American citizens.

HRC 41 states the belief that the NDAA violates numerous sections of the U.S. Constitution, most notably Article I, Section 9, and the 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th and 14th Amendments. This resolution condemns Section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA and urges the Attorney General of Ohio to file suit.

“We often reflect on the rights and freedoms for which so many Americans have fought and sacrificed,” said Representative Butler. “One of the most fundamental of those freedoms is that our government cannot lock you in prison without first proving your guilt at trial before a jury of your peers. These dangerous provisions of the NDAA have potential to be used for tyranny by a future president and are patently unconstitutional.”

“I am extremely proud of our American heritage and the protections afforded to us in our Constitution as citizens of this great country,” said Representative Young. “However, the actions our government has taken in the NDAA call into question the very rights and freedoms that we all hold so dear. If government bureaucracies and enforcement arms have the power to indefinitely detain and imprison U.S. citizens without filing formal charges, then all of our freedoms and all of our rights are on the chopping block. These unconstitutional and dictatorial provisions of the NDAA must be resisted with all the energy and power of the State of Ohio.”

Representatives Butler and Young are also sponsors of House Bill 354, which states that no state resource shall be used to aid the federal government in indefinitely detaining any person in Ohio. It also prevents state and local law enforcement officials from assisting the United States military in any investigation, prosecution, or detention that may deprive residents of Ohio to the right to trial if imprisoned.